Headwind
by ebjeebies
Summary: Sometimes you wonder if you've missed the train, even though your ticket says otherwise. A story about love, life, disappointment, and possibility. Told in drabbles and bits. AU. Kag/Kouga, Kag/Inu, and a sprinkling of Mir/San. T for now.
1. Chapter 1

**Headwind**

_Sometimes you wonder if you've missed the train, even though your ticket says otherwise. A story about love, life, disappointment, and possibility. Told in drabbles and bits. AU. Kag/Kouga, Kag/Inu, and a sprinkling of Mir/San. T for now._

**A/N: **Sorry I have been absent for so long. School does that, as does attempting to re-structure a story, which I'm currently doing with _Novus Lux_. I haven't written anything creative in ages, but I felt the pull after reading some other fics, watching friends interact with each other, and a few overheard conversations while I studied in coffee shops. I hope that maybe I'll be able to update this a little more often, since they'll be short pieces, and what there is of a plot isn't terribly complicated. Also, I wrote these first few bits as a study break from finals, so it's not terribly polished. This is probably going to be bitter-sweet, since that's how life often is. Hope you enjoy it though.

_December 2nd, Late Evening, The Monk's Vice Pub & Bar_

Kagome stared at the bottom of her empty glass, studying the way the last drops of amber liquid clung to the curved bottom. She never came to bars alone. She'd been hoping her favorite bar tender would be there, but so far, Sango had failed to materialize, and the flirtatious owner had served her drink instead. She liked him well enough, but he wasn't the one she wanted to talk to tonight.

"Can I get you another, Kaggie?"

She looked up, and Miroku winked. "You know only Sango's allowed to call me that," she grumbled. "But yeah, sure. Another."

He gave her a winning smile and whisked to the other end of the bar to find the scotch.

Someone settled onto the stool next to hers. Her scowl at having her space somewhat invaded disappeared into a look of surprise. The intruder cracked a subtly fanged smile, and one furry white ear atop his head flicked as if in greeting.

"Hey," he said. His voice held a pleasant amount of gravel.

Kagome opened her mouth to respond, when Miroku popped up behind the bar again, scotch in hand.

"Here you go, Kaggie," he grinned, setting the drink in front of her and turning toward the newcomer. "What can I get for you, sir?"

"Got any Blue Moon on tap?" he asked.

"Sure do." And he bobbed off again.

"So," the stranger started, "Kaggie, is it?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. Miroku just had to go on using that accursed nick-name. "Kagome, actually. Call me 'Kaggie' again and the beer you just ordered will decorate that pretty red shirt of yours. You are?"

"Keh, grumpy I see."

"Interesting name, considering you look more like a demon than a dwarf."

He snorted. Grumpy but witty. He could deal with that. "I'm Inuyasha."

Miroku chose that moment to appear with the beer. He looked between the two sitting on the other side of the bar and decided to make himself scarce while still remaining in ear-shot. He was pretty sure Sango would want to know about this when she got back.

Inuyasha picked the orange off the side of the glass and dropped it in before taking a swig.

Kagome sipped her scotch, deciding to try to ignore the guy.

"So what's eatin' you?" He asked, puncturing her attempt at pointed silence.

She sighed, realizing that she probably wasn't going to be able to get out of having a conversation unless she got up and moved. Too much effort, as far as she was concerned. And Sango probably wasn't going to be there any time soon to come rescue her.

"My boyfriend wants me to go to Russia with him." There, the truth. Might as well. She needed to get this off her chest anyway, and she'd probably never see this guy again.

"What's so bad about that?" He asked, slightly disappointed by the mention of a significant other.

"It's cold."

"That's it? Tch, that's a pretty lame reason for not wanting to spend a week or two somewhere."

"He wants me to move there with him. His family lives there, and he has a job offer."

"Oh." Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. "Are you gonna go?"

"I don't know."


	2. Chapter 2

_December 27th, Mid-afternoon, The very long customer service line at Walmart_

"Fancy seeing you here," a pleasant baritone quipped behind her.

Kagome jumped, jerking out of her reverie and nearly dropping her plastic bags. She turned around, her gaze meeting a strikingly familiar face framed by long white hair. He was grinning.

"...Inuyasha?" She said after a moment.

His smile widened. "You remembered."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not that easy to forget," she replied, gesturing at his furry white ears.

He chuckled. "Guess not. You have a good Christmas?"

"Good as it could be, I suppose. My grandpa still has horrible taste in sweaters," Kagome said, holding up the plastic Walmart bags.

"At least he didn't try to give you a singing snow-globe set." Inuyasha indicated the bag he'd set on the floor.

She snorted. "Who gave _that_ to you?"

"My niece. I'm surprised my brother didn't intervene, but he has a perverse sense of humor sometimes."

"Every family has at least one."

"Yeah."

"New Year's ought to better," Kagome offered. "No well-meaning gifts, and lots of booze instead."

"Heh, yeah. You got any New Year's plans with that boyfriend of yours?"

Kagome's smile faded. "He's in Russia with his family."

Inuyasha paused. "You decided not to go?" He asked, referring to their conversation a few weeks back.

"No, he's just visiting right now. I wanted to spend time with my family and think."

"So you haven't made up your mind then."

"I have until February."

The noise of the store invaded what would have been a long silence.

A shrill voice cut through. "Next!" Kagome jumped, then hurried to the counter, leaving Inuyasha still waiting in line.

She plunked the bag on the counter with gift receipt, giving an off-handed smile at the harried looking cashier. After finishing the return, she turned to go, but a hand on her shoulder arrested the motion. She looked up, catching an intense golden gaze.

"Here," Inuyasha said, pressing a slip of paper in her hand. "My brother's having a New Year's party. Call me if you wanna come."

"But I—"

"Just as friends," he said hurriedly. "If you don't have anything better to do."

"Um, right," she nodded, ducking away from his touch. She practically ran for the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Just wanted to clear up a few things before going into this next bit, since there seems to be a bit of confusion. If it seems like I started in the middle, without much background, it's because I did, and it was intentional. This story is going to get built like a puzzle, with pieces falling into place, not necessarily in chronological order. Don't worry though— that's why I'm date/time/place-stamping everything. You'll get to see more background as things go forward, through the memories of the characters. Life isn't an organized, linear sort of thing most of the time, so this story isn't either. Also, there may be a bit of OOCness, but that has mostly to do with how I see the characters having developed after the age they'd be in the series and the various experiences and interactions they've had since, which have shaped their characters. Anyway, thank you so much to those who have reviewed so far! I really appreciate you reading. Hope you enjoy this next little bit!

_December 29th, Happy Hour, The Monk's Vice Pub & Bar_

"You should go," Sango insisted.

"I don't know if it's appropriate..." Kagome mumbled into her beer. "Besides, you and Miroku and I were all going to go downtown to celebrate—"

"Come on, d'you really want to be a third wheel? You know how he gets, _especially_ when he's drunk."

Kagome snorted. "As if you object to it," she shot back. "Ever since you two actually started dating, you've turned into at least as big a letch as he is."

Sango stuck her tongue out at that. "Shut up." She glanced at her beau at the other end of the bar. "Don't tell me you wouldn't want to tap that given half a chance."

"Whatever. He's not my type."

"Tch, he's not one of your long-haired pretty-boys you like to get with, is what you're saying."

"Maybe. But seriously, Sango..."

The woman in question rolled her eyes. "Look. Kouga's in Russia, and Miroku filled me in on that guy you met here at the bar a few weeks ago. He didn't sound like a creep, and you'd be going to a place full of people anyway. Just go and have a good time, okay? You deserve it."

"Right. And also because you wanna drag Miroku off to the fancy hotel bathroom just after midnight."

"Hey, now—"

"Don't even try. Kikyou told me all about how she caught you guys in her roommate's bedroom at their party last year."

Sango eyes took on a mischievous glint. "Heh, she wasn't too happy that I'd used a pair of her nylons to tie Miroku to the bedpost either..."

"You didn't!" Kagome hadn't heard _that_ part of the story.

"Did. The look on her face was priceless." Sango grinned. "I bought her two new pairs to make up for it though. I would've used my own stockings, but I wasn't wearing any that night, since it was weirdly warm out."

Kagome just shook her head. "You're insane."

"Just a little."

"Makes me think twice about taking your advice on going to this guy's party."

"Just go, you idiot. You'll have fun."

"Maybe."


	4. Chapter 4

_December 31st, 11:45 pm, Sesshoumaru's New Year's Party_

Inuyasha leaned back on his brother's black leather sofa. He was just the right amount of buzzed, and currently quite happy watch Kagome mingle a few of the other guests. He was glad she'd called. He liked her brand of snarky company.

"Hey," Kagome said, coming over to plop down on the couch.

"Having a good time?" He asked.

"Mhmm." She took a sip of champagne. It was much higher quality than she would have ever bought herself. "This is quite the...upscale affair."

"Heh, always the best for Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha replied slightly sarcastically.

"Always," came the cool response from behind the sofa. Inuyasha and Kagome jumped slightly. Kagome turned in her seat and found herself looking up at the host, a tall, fine-boned demon whose coloring was identical to Inuyasha's. She hadn't gotten the chance to speak with him yet.

Sesshoumaru smiled subtly down at her. "You can see how much my young brother here appreciates my generosity in sharing 'the best' with him."

Kagome gave him a lopsided smile while Inuyasha sputtered for a second. "Well, I certainly appreciate it. Thanks for letting him invite me."

"It was not a problem." The subtle smile was back again. "He can bother you instead of talking Rin into some mischief or another."

Kagome laughed. "Oh, I see. I'll try to keep him in line then."

"If you would. I must find my wife now. We have only a few minutes until midnight."

"'Kay." She turned back to Inuyasha with a smirk.

"Jerk," he grumbled.

"A fun jerk though, or you wouldn't have invited me." She leaned toward him, the alcohol in her veins knocking her inhibitions down a notch. "Am I right?"

He froze for a second, not quite sure what to make of her sudden proximity. He could tell she wasn't wearing any perfume, but her scent was no less intoxicating to him— almost as much as the wine he'd been drinking. "—Er..."

"Well?" She glared at him playfully.

Deciding to see what she'd do with a taste of her own medicine, he leaned toward her and opened his mouth to reply. Suddenly the lights dimmed, and the volume on the TV turned up. The room went silent, all faces turned toward the screen where the sparkling ball in New York City gleamed. Then—

"10! 9! 8—!" People shouted, readying drinks and standing next to partners or dates.

"7! 6—!"

Kagome turned to look at the TV, then glanced back at Inuyasha.

"5! 4! 3—!"

She caught his eye in the dim light.

"2—!"

Was he leaning in, or was it just her booze talking?

"1—!"


	5. Chapter 5

_January 2__nd__, 7:30 a.m., Prindle Street Café _

"Kagome, you better have kissed him. I didn't come out at this ungodly hour for nothing, you know." Sango sipped her coffee, shooting Kagome a glare over the top of her mug.

"Sorry, I know you have a cushy evening job, but some of us have to work normal people hours," Kagome grumbled.

"So did you or didn't you?" Sango pressed, ignoring the jibe.

"I don't know."

"What? Don't tell me you got _that_ drunk!" Sango exclaimed. "What's the point of partying if you can't even remember all the fun you had afterwards?"

Kagome pouted. "I didn't _mean_ to drink that much. It just kind of happened. You would not believe the quality of alcohol served at this party. Trust me, you would have gotten at _least_ as sloshed as I did."

"Maybe," Sango allowed, taking a bite of pastry. "What kind of champagne was it?" She asked around her mouthful.

"Dom Perignon."

"No way."

"Way," said Kagome, licking muffin crumbs off her fingers. "The guy's house was incredible too. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a money tree in the back yard or something."

Sango chuckled. "Or a printing press in his basement."

"Probably both," Kagome giggled. "But anyway, yeah. So I have no idea if I kissed him or not."

"But let me guess, you still feel guilty?"

Kagome sighed. "Yeah."

Sango shrugged. "If you can't remember, you could always call and ask him."

"What?" Kagome looked horrified. "Are you kidding? I'm never talking to that guy again!"

"Why not?" Sango asked. "It's the only way to find out," she said reasonably. "He didn't take advantage of you, did he?"

"No!" Kagome exclaimed. "I woke up next to him on his brother's couch, but we were both wearing all of our clothes, and I didn't _feel_ like I had sex, and there was no physical evidence of it anywhere, so…"

"So then why won't you call him?"

"Because!"

"Seriously? Second grade reasoning now?"

"Alright, fine. You wanna know the reason?"

"I'd like to hear it." Sango put down her cup of coffee.

Kagome took a deep breath. "Because he has a horrible sense of humor that I can't stand, teases me to death, calls me 'Kaggie,' he looks like fucking sex on a stick, and has this _smirk_ on his face all the time that's all—"

"You _like him_, don't you?" Sango interjected.

Kagome buried her face in her hands. "I don't know about that," she grumbled between her fingers, "but I really wanna fuck him."

Sango arched her brows at that. "Well at least you've got that sorted out."

"Huh?" Kagome raised her face from her hands. "You're not going to tell me I'm a terrible person for even thinking about it when I'm already with Kouga?"

Sango shrugged. "No. It's not really any of my business whether you cheat or not. I'm not exactly in a position to judge, you know."

"You've cheated on Miroku? How would you even have time? You guys go at it like rabbits!"

Sango laughed. "No, I haven't cheated on Miroku. But everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes the mistake is cheating on the person you're dating, and sometimes the mistake is dating the person you're cheating on."

"And you just have to figure it out, right?"

"Pretty much."

"It's harder than it sounds, isn't it?"

"Depends."

* * *

**A/N: **Another installment. Apparently I'm on a roll today. Review? :) -ebj


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